Hospital Lab Staff Certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathology for Phlebotomy

The Outer Banks Hospital is pleased to announce that phlebotomists Debbie Belangia and Rhea Anne Byrd have been awarded Phlebotomy Technician, PBT(ASCP) certification by the American Society for Clinical Pathology.

NAGS HEAD, N.C.—The Outer Banks Hospital is pleased to announce that phlebotomists Debbie Belangia and Rhea Anne Byrd have been awarded Phlebotomy Technician, PBT(ASCP) certification by the American Society for Clinical Pathology.

“ASCP is the largest and oldest pathology and laboratory medicine society, and certification by them is the gold standard for laboratory professionals,” said Debra Johnson, Director of Diagnostic Services at The Outer Banks Hospital. “This is a huge accomplishment and it raises the bar of excellence for the hospital’s laboratory now that all of our phlebotomists have obtained ASCP phlebotomy certification,” added Johnson.

The Board of Registry of the American Society for Clinical Pathology’s (ASCP) national certification exam mandates a high school diploma and completion of an approved training program or one-year full-time work experience to obtain the PBT(ASCP) certification. The PBT(ASCP) certification necessitates a Certification Maintenance Program every three years for maintenance.

Phlebotomists draw blood for medical tests or blood donations, and are trained in infection control standards, blood sampling and patient identification techniques, and procedures for processing samples.

About American Society for Clinical Pathology(ASCP)

Founded in 1928 by the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), the Board of Certification is widely accepted as the most influential leader in the field of certification of medical laboratory professionals. To date over 430,000 individuals have been certified.

The ASCP Board of Certification is an administratively independent certification agency that prepares relevant standards and develops procedures that will assure the competence of non-physician medical laboratory personnel. The ASCP Board of Certification certifies those individuals who meet the academic and clinical prerequisites and who achieve acceptable performance levels on examinations.

About The Outer Banks Hospital Laboratory

The Outer Banks Hospital’s laboratory staff is made up of ASCP-certified medical technologists and medical technicians who work under the medical direction of Dr. Ann Sutton of East Carolina University Regional Pathology located in Greenville, N.C. The hospital’s lab staff members are highly trained in all aspects of laboratory medicine including hematology, coagulation, blood bank, chemistry, urinalysis and serology. The Outer Banks Hospital’s laboratory performs a wide variety of tests on blood and body fluids. The results from these tests assist physicians in the diagnosis and continued care of the patient.